Mary Keitany, the world record holder in a women marathon, speaks during an interview with Reuters as she takes part in the 2019 Athletes Annual Conference in Eldoret, Kenya. December 4, 2019. Photo REUTERS/Njeri Mwangi

(Reuters) - Kenya’s Mary Keitany, the world record holder for a women-only marathon, announced her retirement on Wednesday at the age of 39 due to a back injury.

Keitany set the record in her third London Marathon win in 2017, finishing in a time of two hours 17 minutes and one second. Her compatriot Brigid Kosgei and Briton Paula Radcliffe are the only two women to have run a marathon quicker, having done so in mixed gender races.

Keitany said the COVID-19 pandemic had denied her the chance to receive treatment for a back injury sustained in 2019.

"I'm sad to say, a back injury that I suffered in late 2019 made a decision about my retirement for me," Keitany said in a statement here.

“I couldn’t get the treatment I wanted in Europe because of the pandemic-related travel restrictions last year and every time I thought I had got over the injury and started training hard, it became a problem again.

“So now is the time to say goodbye -- if only as an elite runner - to the sport I love so much.”

Keitany won the New York Marathon four times, including three consecutive victories between 2014-16, and the world half marathon title in 2009. She finished fourth at the 2012 Olympic Games in London. - Hritika Sharma, Reuters

Photo via KingFut

Al Masry discovered their round of 32 opponents in the CAF Confederation Cup as Uganda Revenue Authority defeated Ethiopian Coffee Addis Abeba.

Al Masry are no strangers to the CAF Confederation Cup as they participated in four consecutive editions from 2016/17 to 2019/20.

Despite finishing Egyptian Premier League season in fifth place, Al Masry qualified alongside Pyramids as they were fourth on the table by the time EFA sent the participating clubs list.

In their search for their first African title, Al Masry are going to be facing Uganda Revenue Authority who have achieved easy victories over Ethiopian Coffee Addis Abeba with the result of 5-1 on aggregate.

Uganda Revenue Authority have won both home and away games, first 2-0 in Uganda, then 3-1 in Ethiopia.

The round of 32 first leg will be taking place on the 15th, 16th, and 17th of October, and the second leg will be happening a week later.

If Al Masry pass their first hurdle, they will be clashing with the CAF Champions League round of 32 disqualified clubs in the next round. - Ahmad Gamal Ali, KingFut

Kenya's former sports minister paid a fine of just over $32,000 on Thursday to avoid a six-year jail sentence after being convicted of corruption and abuse of office for misappropriating money set aside for the country's 2016 Olympic team.

Hassan Wario's sentence was to pay the fine or go to jail. He paid and was released from custody soon after Thursday's sentencing hearing, provoking uproar from some Kenyans on social media. They were angered that Wario was freed after being found guilty of corruption relating to the misuse of more than $800,000 that was meant to help Kenyan athletes' prepare for and perform at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro.

There were allegations that corruption in the buildup and during the Games was rife among other Kenyan government and sports officials, who were accused of stealing money from the $5.7 million Olympic budget and some of the $700,000 given to the track and field federation by sponsor Nike.

Stephen Soi, a co-accused in the trial who was the Kenyan team's chef de mission in Rio, was also convicted on the same charges and sentenced to 12 years in jail or a fine of about $950,000.

Wario and Soi were sentenced by anti-corruption judge Elizabeth Juma, who found them guilty on Wednesday. She ruled that Wario, who was sports minister from 2013-2018, used some of the team's budget to fly three people unconnected to the Olympics to Brazil and pay them allowances.

Juma ruled that Soi was the main offender with regard to misusing money. She said she took into account that both were first-time offenders and gave the two men 14 days to appeal.

Former Kenyan Olympic committee secretary general Francis Paul and three other sports ministry officials were acquitted.

Wario is the most senior government official to be convicted of corruption in relation to the Olympic scandal. He was Kenya’s ambassador to Austria when he was arrested and charged in 2018.

David Okeyo, the former vice president of Athletics Kenya and a council member at the world track body, was banned from the sport for life the same year for embezzling hundreds of thousands of dollars of the Nike money. - MUTWIRI MUTUOTA ASSOCIATED PRESS / The News Tribune